And, no, I wouldn’t dream of putting my kid’s bunny rabbit to the test, but I’m curious. If a rabbit had no access to grass, etc, and you put a bowl of catfood in its hutch instead of carrots, seeds, nuts, would the rabbit eventually eat the meat, or simply starve to death?
And, conversely, if I filled my dog’s bowl with rabbit food would he starve eventually rather than experiment with the new diet?
In other words, could you turn a carnivore into a herbivore and vice versa?
Well, while I realize this is anecdotal and I have no cite, my friend’s rabbit eats out of the cat’s dish all the time. He’ll eat veggies too, but she finds him chomping on dry cat food constantly, even when he has plenty of “bunny food” around.
Once they got hungry enough, I’d wager they’d eat anything. Starving humans, after all, are notorious for eating non-nutritive things like shoe leather.
Of course, giving the dog (or a cat) rabbit food might starve them anyway, since they don’t have the right kind of gut to absorb the low-nutrient food.
The dog will probably eat it. Dogs will do ok (not great, but ok) on a vegan diet. Their life will suck they, will be weak and depressed, but they will survive. Cats might not do so well, they’ll eat it, but they’ll get sick and die unless you supplement proper amino acids.
Bunnies? Bunnies will probably eat the cat food, and probably have the hardest time digesting it. Cat food should have enough components digestible for a bunny to let them survive…somehow. If you fed them raw meat however, they might not fare so well. I’m not a vet, so I can’t tell you what the effects would be, but I know that at a certain stage of hunger, mammals will try things that otherwise appear inedible to them. I know that cows will attempt to eat the wooden stalls they are in if they are starved.
My co-worker let her dwarf rabbit have a piece of turkey over the weekend. He got the runs.
In my experience, dogs eat anything, even things that nobody is meant to eat.
Anybody who tries to turn their cat into a vegetarian is nuts. They are carnivores. Dogs are more omnivorous, but I wouldn’t try with them, either.
How does Bugs hold that carrot in his paw, like he does. Do rabbits have thumbs?
And, what’s up with Doc?
Rabbits have fairly complex digestive systems and any sudden change in diet, even if it is only plant material, can throw their systems off for a day or too.
It wouldn’t surprise me if a rabbit would eat meat rather than starve if absolutely nothing else were available, but it would probably not do the animal much good.
A cow would eat a rabbit if hungry enough.
FWIW, I’ve sseen a rabbit canalibize her young as well as eating the placentas. The next litter was fine though. Matter of fact, I just brought mine home last night.
Oh, by the way, introducing our newest Doper-Bunny, Spooky! She’s a very light grey Lion Head. She’ll grow a ruff around her neck at full adulthood and get about as big as a large dwarf.
Man, I must have PMS. Thinking about bunnies possibly starving is making me emotional.
Poor starving bunnies… 
Ditto on the rabbits canabalizing their young.
It happens when they are stressed.
Thats why rabbit breeders keep the area around their birthing cages calm and quiet.
My dog, who is notoriously picky, will steal my bunny’s food any chance he gets, and eats carrots like they’re going out of style (he actually enjoys them more than some varieties of dog bone.)
My bunny, OTOH, has no interest in dog food. However, maybe I’ve just never let him get that hungry…
15 years ago I had a pet rabbit that would eat bacon.
But seriously, who wouldn’t?
